On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal were joined by OilersNation’s Bagged Milk to preview tonight’s preseason matchup between the Canucks and Oilers. With Vancouver getting one final tune-up before the regular season kicks off on Wednesday against Calgary, the discussion covered various players and key storylines.
The talk began with ex-Canucks prospect Vasily Podkolzin, whom Vancouver traded to Edmonton in July for a 2025 fourth-round pick. Podkolzin, 23, spent three years alternating between Vancouver’s NHL and AHL clubs but never quite found his footing, prompting the Canucks to arrange a fresh start for the young Russian winger.
“He’s aggressive on the forecheck,” BM said. “He’s great at puck pursuit, shaking pucks loose when he’s in the corner. That’s going to be really beneficial for an Oilers team with some skill up front. If Podkolzin can get in there and create opportunities for his linemates, he’ll be in a good spot. He’s had plenty of good looks to score in the preseason but only has one goal. He’s positioning himself well, but it just hasn’t clicked on the scoresheet yet. He’s producing chances, and this fresh start might be exactly what he needed. There’s not a lot of pressure on him offensively, so anything he gives us is going to be a bonus.”
The conversation then shifted to Edmonton’s lineup for tonight’s game, which is expected to closely resemble their regular-season roster.
“The top-nine forwards are pretty much locked in,” BM noted. “The only position still up for grabs is the fourth-line centre spot. The big concern in Edmonton is the right side of the defence. Tonight’s pairings include Ekholm-Bouchard, which is a given. Then, you have Nurse-Emberson as the second pair. Nurse is coming off an injury, having only played his first preseason game recently after missing all of training camp. It’s unclear how long it’ll take him to get up to speed. We saw with Ekholm last year that it took him 6-8 weeks to fully get back. Preseason results may not matter, but getting your legs back and playing at game speed is important, especially for that second pairing. Emberson is still very raw and doesn’t have much NHL experience, but he’s currently pencilled in as a top-four defenceman. We’ll have to see if he can handle that role. The third pair features Brett Kulak, who can move up and down the lineup, and Troy Stecher.”
The Oilers also made some notable offseason acquisitions, bringing in veterans Victor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to play alongside Leon Draisaitl on the second line. BM shared his thoughts on this new-look unit.
“The big question is: how healthy is Arvidsson going to be?” BM asked. “And can Skinner figure out where Leon wants him to be? Skinner’s been pretty quiet throughout the preseason. The makings of a good second line are there, but the question is whether they can put it together. Just because a trio looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’ll work on the ice. So far, they’ve had some decent chances, but nothing extraordinary- and that’s against preseason competition that hasn’t always been NHL calibre. The key question is how long it’ll take them to figure things out, and if they don’t, how long will Chris Knoblauch give them before making changes? On paper, they should score goals, but if they’re getting stuck in their own zone, that’s not the line you want out there.”
The conversation wrapped up with a quick analysis of the Canucks’ lineup and how it compares to last year.
“The Canucks are going to be a good team,” BM admitted. “The big question for me is how many goals DeBrusk will score alongside Elias Pettersson. He signed a big contract in Vancouver, and now we’ll see if he can live up to it. He has the potential, but with that comes the pressure. Another thing to watch is Vinnie Desharnais. Will he be slotted in as the third right defenceman, or is there hope he can be more than that? From what I’ve seen over the past couple of years, Vancouver might be better off keeping him lower in the lineup. He struggles with puck control at times, which could be an issue for the Canucks. But when I look at Vancouver’s roster, there’s a lot of skill, and many players who can put the puck in the net. I’m curious to see how they execute.”
You can watch the full segment below:
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